Lost But Then Found
by AliasCWN
Summary: Tully is separated from the others during a raid
**Lost But Then Found**

By: AliasCWN

The firing had died down as Tully made his way through the alley. At first he thought he'd lost them but a bullet hitting the wall by his head made him reconsider that idea. He ducked to the side and darted around a corner. With only a short head start he was having a tough time losing his pursuers. They were determined, he'd give them that. Not that he really appreciated that fact at the moment. He'd much rather they gave up and quit chasing him. The wound in his leg was starting to throb with each step that he took. If he had his choice he'd much rather it had stayed numb a bit longer. He didn't need the pain to keep him moving, the angry shouts of the Germans when they spotted him was incentive enough. It seemed that they blamed him for the death of some of their friends. He had to admit, he had taken part in their deaths. The thing was, they'd shot at him first. All he'd wanted to do was plant his explosives and get out. They had started this running gun battle. To be fair, they were as much to blame for their fate as anyone.

Tully paused to catch his breath and try to plan his next move. He was bound to run out of alleys pretty soon. Either that or he was going to run into another group of Germans. That possibility didn't exactly appeal to him either. It would be just his luck to run into some more who blamed him for this whole mess. As he stood there trying to get his second wind, he considered the situation. It seemed to him that the average German, at least the ones on this base, didn't have much of a sense of humor. They didn't seem to find this incident the least bit funny. He was wounded and running from a bunch of guys who didn't even know why he was there. They thought he just wanted to blow up the armored vehicles. And he had to admit, that was part of it, but only part. He also wanted to put a stop to their planned attack in the morning. He preferred that they just cancel the whole thing. That would not only save some of their lives, but they could sleep in in the morning since they would suddenly have nothing to do. He considered pointing that out to them if he got caught but somehow he doubted that they were in any mood to listen.

The attack was aimed at his base and Tully knew there were a lot of new recruits that had just arrived. He thought it would be nice if they could get used to the desert before any of them had to die on it. He didn't think that that argument would fly with his pursuers either. With a sigh he decided his time would be better spent looking for a way to stay alive. He was a strong believer in survival. You could say it was one of his more advanced skills.

Another bullet whizzed past his head and sent him ducking again. Getting his bearings, he headed for an intersection that would allow him to make his way back toward the jeeps. The problem with these Arab towns, they had too darn many streets that ended in dead ends. Tully wanted to avoid anything that had the word dead associated with it. Running into a stone wall, Tully had to backtrack. As he made his way around a corner he spotted two soldiers headed his way. Not wanting to announce his location, he decided he needed to take them quietly. Waiting just around the corner, he hit the first one with his rifle butt in the face. The second one skidded to a halt too late to avoid the knife thrust at him. Tully checked to make sure neither one would be able to call an alarm before he hobbled in the direction they had just covered. All he needed was a few minutes to get lost in another maze of alleys. They knew about where he was and they knew he was wounded. All they had to do was call in reinforcements and block off the streets. They could take their time flushing him out.

The sound of rushing feet alerted him to more trouble headed his way. A scrub tree growing next to a fenced in courtyard offered him an escape route that would avoid the new threat. Tully pulled himself up the trunk of the tree to the top of the stone fence. Throwing himself over the wall, he landed hard on his wounded leg. He heard the searchers pass even as he struggled to contain the moan of pain. Flames of fire seemed to be racing up his leg.

Looking around he found himself in a garden barren of anything but dead vegetation and broken baskets. The stone wall on the other side was starting to crumble with neglect. Tully hobbled over and inspected it's surface. Shrugging his rifle sling over his shoulder he began to climb digging his fingers and the toes of his boots into the cracks. His progress was slow due for the need for silence and the burning in his leg. The searchers were concentrating on the alley behind him. He heard the yells of alarm as they found the soldiers he had attacked. With a final push he threw his injured leg over the wall and lay flat on the top. Pausing to listen and look around, he was panting with the exertion. The alley looked clear as he dropped gingerly into the street trying not to jar his leg.

A small sound nearby nearly gave him a heart attack. When he looked closer he spotted a small boy crouched at the base of the wall staring at him fearfully. The child was small and thin, nearly skeletal. His dark eyes were wide with fright. Tully approached him slowly, trying not to startle him into flight. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a piece of hard candy he had been carrying to keep his mouth moist. With slow movements, he offered it to the boy. The boy hesitated, clearly afraid of him. Tully smiled, trying to appear friendly. The child watched him, not moving. As he tried to get closer, he put too much weight on his injured leg. The leg collapsed under him and he fell against the wall next to the boy. With a groan he settled to the ground, dropping the candy. As he clutched his leg, a small hand reached out and picked up the offered treat. The boy unwrapped the candy and peered at Tully with a puzzled look. At last he stuck his tongue against the surface of the candy. His eyes lit up with surprise and delight at the unexpected treat.

Tully nodded at him before he climbed to his feet. As he stood the child reached out and touched his fingertips to the blood on Tullys' pant leg. The sound of heavy footsteps interrupted anything he might have tried to say. Tully glanced around wildly looking for another way out. The boy reached for his hand, watching him to see what he would do. Tully held still as the child rose to his feet. The boy pulled on his hand and led him across the alley to a gate in another wall. To Tully it looked solid but the boy pushed and the gate swung open. The two of them went inside and the boy pushed the gate shut and dropped a bar in place to lock it. He led Tully to the other side of the courtyard where yet another gate led out into the street. He unbarred this one and pulled on Tully impatiently. Tully leaned out and looked both ways. Certain that the way was clear, the boy led him along the alley.

Tully tried to determine which direction he needed to go to find the others. He knew they would wait as long as they could for him. He pointed in the general direction of the jeeps and tried to tell his young guide that that was where he wanted to go. The boy kept shaking his head and pulling on Tullys' arm to go the other way. Tully was beginning to worry as they got farther and farther away from the center of town. He knew that the others would not look for him in this section of the town. He tried to go back but the boy would get agitated each time he tried. Finally, too tired to go on, he fell to his knees in an alley and collapsed. The boy pulled frantically on his arm. Tully managed to get to his feet again but he knew he couldn't walk much farther. His guide led him into an abandoned shed and helped him to lie down. Exhausted, Tully passed out before he could even check out his new shelter.

When Tully opened his eyes he was alone. The boy was nowhere in sight. Fearing that the boy would sell him out to the Germans, Tully tried to get to his feet. His whole world started to spin around him. Groaning, he dropped onto his side and closed his eyes. He waited, not knowing where his guide had gone. After a while he decided that he would have to move if he wanted to get out of this mess alive. Dragging himself, he managed to find a pile of old straw outside the building that provided some cover. He pulled as much as he could over him and waited to get his second wind. He was planning his next move when he heard the footsteps approaching. Peeking out, he spotted the boy leading a tall Arab toward the shed. Tully held his breath as he watched. The boy went straight to where he had left him. Tully sighed with regret as he realized that the boy had betrayed him.

Tully watched as the boy pointed to where he had lain. The Arab knelt down and wiped his fingers across the floor. When he raised his hand Tully could see the blood on his fingertips. The Arab spoke softly to the boy before he stood up. He kept his head lowered as he followed the droplets of blood with his eyes. Tully braced to attack as they followed the trail straight to the pile of straw.

When the Arab lifted his head Tully nearly passed out with relief. The face under the head cover was a familiar one. Moffitt met his eyes with a big smile. He hurried to Tullys' side. The boy rushed to his side and began to talk rapidly. His voice became shy as he watched Moffitt brush the straw off of Tully. The sargent took a quick look at the leg wound before he helped Tully to his feet.

Reaching into his pocket, Moffitt pulled some coins out and offered them to the boy. The boy looked at them longingly then shook his head. He said something to Moffitt before he looked at Tully. Moffitt spoke to him again and pushed the coins into his hand. With a shy smile he took them and hid them in his clothing. He watched Tully as Moffitt helped him to his feet. Moffitt spoke to him again and he looked up fearfully. With a quick nod he waved at Tully and took off running down the alley.

Moffitt helped Tully to walk as he led him toward the edge of town. They ran into several patrols and had to hide until they passed. Tully was wondering how they were going to get across the final open space without being spotted when he heard the commotion. Looking toward the yells, he saw Hitchs' jeep go racing around a corner farther down the street. Troy was on the 50 creating havoc. The guards dropped everything and ran toward the gun fire. Moffitt pulled on his arm and hurried Tully across the open space and out the gate.

They made it to the jeep and Moffitt settled Tully into the passengers' seat. Climbing behind the wheel he took off for the open desert. The sound of gun fire stopped and the second jeep soon caught up to them. They raced side by side away from the German town until Troy called a halt. Moffitt helped Tully to the ground and began to cut the material away from the leg wound.

"Moffitt. What did you pay that kid for helping me?"

"Nothing Tully. He wouldn't take anything. He said he helped you because you were his friend. I did insist that he take some coins as a favor to you. I told him you wanted him to have them because you were his friend. It worked. He took them."

"I'll never understand the way some folks think. He could have made a lot more money selling me to the Germans."

"Friends don't sell friends Tully."

"I guess I lucked out when I met him."

"I guess you did. I guess we all did. We may not have found you before the Germans without his help"


End file.
